Alcohol disinfectants are known from, for example, EP-A-O 016 319 which describes such an agent for cleaning wounds and similar practical applications. The prior art disinfectant contains a solution of alcohol to which has been added, for purposes of stabilisation, hydrogen peroxide in an amount of between 0.05 and 1 per cent of the weight of the alcohol solution. According to EP-A-O 016 319, it is possible, by means of this addition of hydrogen peroxide, to prevent the uncontrolled growth of spores and the like unintentionally introduced into the disinfectant. A disinfectant similar to that described above is also known from EP-A-O 252 278 which proposes, also for purposes of stabilisation, the addition of hydrogen peroxide so as to prevent the uncontrolled growth of spores and similar micro-organisms and thereby stabilise the alcohol disinfectant.
In addition to wound treatment and skin cleaning purposes, disinfectants are also employed in industrial contexts for destroying undesired (pathogenic) bacteria and other harmful micro-organisms. In, for example, the food and pharmaceuticals industries, extremely high demands on hygiene are often placed on the produced product, partly in order that the product can be consumed at all, and partly to enable it to be packed and stored without the risk of being destroyed during its storage life as a result of decomposition reactions occasioned by micro-organisms and/or the uninhibited/uncontrolled growth of harmful micro-organisms which may unintentionally accompany the product into its package.
In order to satisfy the demands on product hygiene, it is therefore not least important that the equipment which is used for producing and packaging the product be carefully monitored and controlled and, if necessary or as a preventive measure, be regularly cleaned and disinfected so as to eliminate the presence of harmful micro-organisms in the immediate vicinity of the product. It is of particular importance that such surfaces (for example pipelines, conduits and the like) which the product flows in direct contact with, or otherwise comes into direct contact with during the producing and packing processes are kept hygienically clean and free of micro-organisms which risk harming the product. This naturally also applies to the package and the material from which the package is produced.
For disinfecting and cleaning equipment employed in industrial processes of the type described above, it is known in the art to use solutions of alcohol, such as ethanol and/or propanol. These known agents are active against such micro-organisms as vegetative bacteria, fungi and viruses which may therefore readily be eliminated, but are incapable of combating spores.
Another known disinfectant and cleaning agent for industrial applications is based on chemicals such as peracetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde which are all highly active against not only micro-organisms such as vegetative bacteria, fungi and viruses, but also against spores which may thus readily be eliminated by treatment with these known agents. One problem however is that the these sporicidal agents are highly corrosive and, as a result, also attack and destroy the material, for example stainless steel, plastic, rubber etc., employed in conventional process equipment.
There is thus a need in the art for a disinfectant for industrial use which may efficiently be employed for eliminating micro-organisms, including spores, but which at the same time does not attack and destroy the material, for example non-stainless steel, plastic, rubber etc., in those surfaces from which the micro-organisms are to be eliminated.